Jack Reacher: Never Go Back arrived in October 2016 as a sequel that was never a sure thing, and its production story is full of strange details: a $200 million lifeline, Louisiana tax math, a browser game, and later talk of an R-rated third chapter. Here are the facts fans still ask about.
A sequel was far from guaranteed
The first Jack Reacher was meant to be a tent-pole for a film series, but a sequel was initially reported to be unlikely because of its lackluster North American box office. In February 2013, that changed as the film passed a gross of $200 million worldwide. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media announced the second film on December 9, 2013.
Cruise and Zwick already had a track record
Edward Zwick was reported on May 19, 2015 to direct the film and reteam with Tom Cruise. Zwick wrote the script with Marshall Herskovitz and Richard Wenk. He had previously directed Cruise in The Last Samurai, released in 2003.
Louisiana shaped the production budget
Principal photography began on October 20, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The production moved to Baton Rouge on November 23, 2015, and filmed in St. Francisville in January 2016 before wrapping on January 30, 2016. The reported gross total production budget was $96 million, with $65 million of location spending in Louisiana eligible for tax incentives valued at $21 million.
The global release was unusually wide
Outside North America, the film opened in 42 countries in conjunction with its United States and Canada debut, representing about 75% of its total marketplace internationally. In 30 of those markets, it posted a bigger opening than the first Reacher film. Its top openings included the United Kingdom and Ireland with $3.3 million and France with $2.8 million.
Midnight numbers split the difference
In the United States and Canada, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back earned $1.3 million in midnight showings at 1,850 theaters. That was slightly above Oblivion’s $1.1 million and under Edge of Tomorrow’s $1.8 million. It opened to $23 million for the weekend, finishing in second place behind Boo! A Madea Halloween.
The second weekend fell hard
In its second weekend, the film dropped by 58.2%, grossing $9.6 million and finishing third at the box office. It sat behind A Madea Halloween with $16.7 million and newcomer Inferno with $15 million. The worldwide total reached $162 million against a production budget reported as $60–96 million.
Critics were blunt, audiences friendlier
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 37% based on 244 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10. Metacritic’s weighted average is 47 out of 100 based on 43 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a B+, while the first film received an A−.
The trailer rollout used a browser game
On June 14, 2016, Entertainment Weekly premiered a preview of the first trailer, with Cobie Smulders introducing the footage. The official Jack Reacher Twitter account announced a full trailer for June 22, 2016. A browser game titled Jack Reacher: Never Stop Punching was also released to promote the film.
A darker R-rated third film was discussed
In July 2020, Christopher McQuarrie stated that he and Tom Cruise had been working on developments for additional films featuring the title character. Plans for the third film included darker themes, with intentions for future movies in the series to be R-rated. McQuarrie added that the franchise has moved on… we haven’t.
Which of these details changes how you see the sequel? Tell us your favourite Jack Reacher: Never Go Back fact.
Facts from Wikipedia: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
